Thank you for the great work you did on the engine Nick, i took the engine apart a few years ago and came to you to mesure the combustion chamber size because I myself had very few info on it. Based on those measurements I sold the old fuely heads that were maybe from an old 327 corvette engine and got a whole new top end kit. I will definitly choose every part myself on the next build , that being said im very greatful for how it turned out and very thankful for the good tune you did on her. Thanks again man ! Ps the engine is for my 89 firebird :)
Look at that awesome flat line of torque. It will be so much fun to drive that on the street. Part throttle double wheel peel burnout capabilities right there no problem. Rev limit it though. Rpm's are the only thing that will kill it.
My dad used to build late model dirt car engines using 400 sbc as starting point by time he was done he had 700hp+ fire breathing monsters that would run 100 lap races wide open. I grew up getting to watch this and hand him wrenches and be a part of it. Nasty nasty engines especially for the time.
I went with 400 GM and added a stroked kit to make 427 and built it all to run pump gas.. Dyno run was 535 hp with a 850 Holley . Added EFI and the horsepower went to 565 hp. EFI improved the overall driving experience and added a big boost in power. This is odd combination of big power in a small package
You know Nick is a gearhead through and through!! He still gets excited when he makes a decision and confirms it by rubbing his hands together. Sign of someone that loves what he does!! :)
I love watching Nick when he's in the Dyno room. That is where Nick has his most fun. He can tune like crazy in there. He has super good instincts. He tunes by feel. Old skool. I like that.
Lol my buddy had a 400 in his 68 Camaro graduation gift in 1996, gm dual plane holley 750 , ported camel humps headers and a mystery cam , he blew the doors off almost everything , made believers out of us 400 is a brute
Thanks Nick for a great video! I remember buying 400 sbc's for $50-$100 in the late 80's/early 90's. People around here were scared of them because of all the stories of over heating or blocks splitting. They didn't understand about drilling the steamer holes in non-400 cylinder heads. So they built stroker motors instead. I love these engines! So easy to make good power and torque. I wish I had one now!
Drilled heads or not these things heated under load. I went as far as using a 4 core desert radiator used in the Blazer. Everybody I knew had the same problem . Not a summer time driver. I know what I'm talking about. I am a two time NHRA record holder even John Bandimere is familiar with this problem. (He is an old and dear friend.).
@@genefoster8601 I ran one in my Nova for years. Std. bore 400sbc, 461 double hump heads, 305 comp cam, tunnel ram w/450 Holleys. TH350 w/3500 stall, 4;56 gears in a 10 bolt. I used a 4row radiator, Robert Shaw 160 degree thermostat, good water pump, flex fan with a shroud. Car would run between 165-185 in traffic in July/August. Never had an issue. Out of the dozen or so that I had, I never went more than .030 over. Most were std. bore. I never had any overheating issues. Maybe I was just lucky.
@@mcdonaldm73 you may be right. I live in here in Denver,Colorado and we start a 5280 feet above sea level where there is a lack of oxygen and running up to the Eisenhower tunnel and vail pass the El Camino under that load would reach 240 degrees but with the 18 pound radiator cap it wouldn't boil over. Again now we're talking at around and over 9000 feet. When going downhill it would go immediately back down to 180 degrees even though it had a 160 degree thermostat in it. A few other people I knew had the same problem with the 400 small block. The stock engine gave no problems with heat as long as you didn't raise the compression. Once you went to the double hump heads or the aluminum 202 heads which I ran you were in trouble. I think the altitude here and the mountain driving had a lot to do with this phenomenon. I just didn't like living on the edge of my seat with this engine. Finally put a big block LS engine in it.
@@genefoster8601 your right that's why I built a small block 350 16.5 to 1 compression rto 675/326 full roller motor 5500 to 6000 stall 400 turbo transmission naturally aspirated single carb. Never had a over heating issue.
I had a mild 406 in a chevy II that ran 11.70s on 91 octane. Cast iron Pro Action heads with 200cc intake runners. Raced it and hot rodded the crap out if that 2 bolt main cast crank 400 and never overheated it. So wierd to hear about the horror stories....
Had a 400 in my 78 GMC Camper Special. On the way home in 84 it died in the freeway right at an exit, no spark. Coasted as far as we could and we stopped right beside a pay phone. Called BCAA for a tow to the GM dealership that happened to be open until 9pm, we arrived at 8:35. Bought a pickup coil on an educated guess and after listening to the disbelief and hearing about the nearby accommodation pulled the distributor and got to work. I had it back together and was about to test it as the dealership staff were walking out at 9:02. It fired up and I was going to set the timing but instead drove out of sight first. The disbelief from the staff probably saved us half an hour. Never left home without a spare HEI again. It's almost as if you can prevent a failure just by having the spares on hand. and I packed a bunch of them and although I never needed them for my own vehicles I did get to help plenty of people who were in the middle of having a bad day. Cheers.
Mopar small blocks normally had higher torque out of the factory per cubic inch as I remember, but Chevys, you could get more horsepower out of aftermarket and were really inexpensive to build. I'm hearing here about 400 over heating, but that must be a rare problem because I've never had that happen. Those 400s you can really get some good power out of if ya do it right. You can easily max the 202 valve heads out and need more cfm. A turbo can get you past that, but I found dart heads of the day got me past that restriction, and the the 400 allows just a little more room for bigger valves too. Ahhh the good ol days...
I really enjoy seeing a tuning guru at work. This is the first and only time I've ever subscribed to any RUclips shows. It Nick can't squeeze out a few more horses I don't know who could!
Nick, the more I watch you, it becomes apparent that you mentally bond with an engine when it's on your dyno! Knowing how to coax the maximum output from a particular engine is gift only attained through years of experience. Great vid Nick! 👍
I used to build and run a few 400's back in the mid/late 80's on the street. They had killer torque for a small block and were great street engines. I also used to run them with the old "double hump" fuelie heads.
@Louis Edwards Yeah, I've seen a few sets here and there on Marketplace but you're right, not as many as years ago. Most people laugh at them now but back in the day, they were a great head to use.
@Louis Edwards Theres no point in trying to find them these days, unless you need them for a correct resto. Aftermarket heads are so cheap for an SBC these days that those old things aren't worth the time, money, and effort anymore. Hell, even a little work into a dime a dozen Vortec head and you'd be better off. Fugget-a-bot those ancient double humpers... Not worth it.
@Louis Edwards I hear ya. Same here. Mechanic all my life. Built all my own engines and for buddy’s and @ work. Same with my transmissions, rear ends and every part on the car actually. Started building transmissions at 19 years old and I built my last one two years ago for my Brother. I have now retired from building transmissions. It kills my back to even do too much of anything anymore.
I always remember, when draining small amounts of oil out of an overfilled case, loosening the plug to the "finger-loose" point, and then shoving a very short 3/4" I.D. heater hose (or somewhere abouts) over the flats of the plug and slowly turning it at "precision drain mode" by holding the hose without burning my fingers on 200° dripping oil and plug.
If you build them with 5.7 or 6.0 inch rods and put big nice flowing heads on them the 400 sbc is amazing. Best bang for your buck for any engine in my opinion.
I sincerely want to thank you Nick for being a tried and true muscle car guy. You have Mopar in your blood as I have Chevy in mine.. alot of that has to do with how we we're raised and what our parents had.. Kinda what we know.. BUT.. The love of all makes us who we are. Ford, GM and Mopar have truly made totally awesome completely mind blowing muscle cars and trucks that make us extremely proud. The respect is beyond words and I am very happy to have you to look forward to watching a few times a week. I always know you have something new and you tackle all without bias. Your love for the big 3 is priceless and much appreciated be myself and many more! Thank you!
I’ve got a 406 in my 57 Nomad. It is a heavy car. I built mine for torque instead of horsepower. Brodix aluminum heads, small hydraulic roller cam with 1.7 roller rockers and an Accel super ram fuel injection. 376 horsepower at the crank but 515 pound feet of torque at 2,300 rpm. It is loads of fun to drive!
LoL I love his smile as the engine starts up...despite his lifelong experience he still get's a childlike thrill out of the sound of the engine starting up. he's adorable.
The torque curve, isn’t a curve at all. It’s a ❤️beautiful, flat, consecutive number, torque line. Great motor for racing, a pick up truck or even a daily driver. Good luck to the owner. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge with us Nick. Best of luck 🍀👍🏻
All it took was watching just one video and now here I am ,, hooked ! I am amazed on just how much HP that you squeeze out of your engines . Awesome Work !!!
I remember my dad had a fully loaded 72 Chevy Impala with a 400 in it, that thing ran great until the day he sold it with 200,000 Mi on it. I was just starting to learn how to drive back then and drove that beast LOL
First impression from being around sbc’s my whole childhood and as a young adult. My dad ran Butler and McMasters built sbc in Maine, the 750 is too much for even this hungry 400, good call Nick. Balanced and blue printed engine with powder coated headers a 650 and a high revving Chevrolet brought many a blue ribbon to my old man’s mantle with his wife behind the wheel. Those are great memories. One of the my dad’s proudest moments was winning the state championship with a small block Chevrolet. He always said he was afraid to blow an engine, but Ma gave her the business and no one could touch their combination. Doreen. Proudly wears a Nick’s Garage t-shirt with a big smile. Thank you Nick and you too, you video and editing makes these videos really pop.
I had one in a '73 Firebird that ROCKED. That motor made power all up and down the RPM's, not like some of the smaller SB chev motors that were really peaky and didnt make much below 3500 or 4k
Nick nice job. I remember driving my 73 Caprice with a 400-2bl towing a 4x8 u hail and I got 24 mpg from Florida to CT when I left the Navy. It was a great running car. I still drive my 55 Nomad with a 355 pulling over 400 hp. and I have NO2 as well that I have had since 1974. I love my SBCs I have 2-283+.030 I'm building now. 1 stock and 1 tricked out with domes.
I've been a motorhead my whole life, and I just learned something. 1/2 liter of oil too much equals 5 HP loss. Thanks, Nick. Never knew that. Great channel!!!
I did something similar I rebuilt a SBC and after I put it in my car I took it directly to “Pacific Carburetors “ best thing I ever did as several things were not hooked up correctly AND that I had destroyed the ACCEL distributor on installing, I never would have found this flaw So I recommend that everyone do this ! Especially if they like engines like we do ! I am sure you can find a good shop where you are Gear Heads know this stuff !!!
What’s up Nick and George how are you doing up in the north. It’s cool to see a GM on the channel🤘 today I will be dropping a video reviving my newest acquisition A 1970 Buick powered by a 455. There’s so many great engines out there from different brands it’s hard to be brand loyal lol
you could not revive a wheel borrow yours is the worst channel on you tube really you just dont seem to learn there are all these channels with people who know what there doing and you still dont pick it up and do things wrong
Good morning, Nick, George, and everyone!!! Nick, it’s ALWAYS a pleasure watching you applying your skills and knowledge to all these engines and getting them to perform as they should. A TRUE engine guru: KUDOS, Nick, and y’all have a fantastic day!!! 🙂
The little sbc 400 is very underrated and nowadays very hard to find. They were the true Chevy sb performance engine! I built one back in the early 90's for a 73 nova. Put the edelbrock rpm package on it and ran 12 o's at 127mph in the 1/4 mile. All with the short rods. I still own 3 rare early ones today! Bad little engines. A friend built one with exspensive parts with Brodix, spreadport heads and ran 10:50's in an s-10 pickup. Pretty stout they are.
@@stevesalkas9128 that's a lot of work,time and very expensive! I've ran 7:50's in my nova with a monster big block tho before. Pretty much know what works and what doesn't. I don't really run the 1/4 anymore, I do street race for cash tho!🤪😁
Just fyi, the missing bolt in that hole is where tri- five Chevy motor mounts bolted to and GM was smart enough to leave them there for us tri five gear heads. Only been on channel for a couple weeks but I got my blue Nick’s Tee shirt to match my 55 Chevy Belair 2 door ht with 406 ci sbc and 5 speed Tremec trans.For car shows. Love your channel and if I was 40 years younger, I’d come to work for you for free. I used to be a pretty good wrench on sbc’s . Especially with high reviving 302 69 Z/28 engines. Bill my friend that had a dyno passed away a couple years ago . I never really realized how much I missed my gear head friends till I started watching you. Lots of memories on dirt track and 1/4 mile drag strips. I love how your taking your precious time to teach Leo. Take care , Batman ⚙️👶 R us
Ya know it's gonna be a good day when it starts out with hot coffee and Nick's Garage! First, I want to commend George on his superb skills. If I was there, I wouldn't get to see the angles or hear the sounds any better! For example : the shot of Nick when he hit his numbers! Rocky, eat your heart out! And Nick, your mind is something to watch work! A machine "reading" a machine.... Great job fellas, as always! Stay safe and healthy!
I have one of the 406 SBC engines. They are torque monsters. 5,500 RPM is about it for the red line. I put 11:1 flat top pistons in it but ran the larger heads to get it down to 10:1 for pump gas. I ran a larger cam also with shorty headers. H.P. and torque numbers are very much the same as in this video. It should work well in my 1984 Camaro.
@Car Guy daddyo Good morning Car Guy, Nick told me about how you ordered the water pump for your car, and wound up with two water pumps. If you say it's good, I will trust your judgement. When I had the Charger down here in Texas in the early 70's, it never overheated with the stock setup. Now there is way more traffic, and it is hotter than it was before. I'm sure that the mods that Nick did to my original radiator, and the addition of the aluminum water pump housing, along with the new water pump from FlowKooler will keep the Charger running nice and cool during the Texas summer. I appreciate you letting me know about them. I'm sure that I will be happy with the results.
@Car Guy daddyo Actually, I believe that my Charger had the smaller radiator in it from the factory, and not the 26 inch which would have been indicated on the fender tag. Nick kept my original radiator, and had an extra row added to help with the cooling. You are right on the money, as usual, with your knowledge about cooling, and I always ran a 180 Thermostat in the Charger. I probably won't be driving it much during the heat of the day, because with no a/c it would be brutal inside the car. I'll be doing most of my driving early morning, and late in the evening after it starts to cool down.
@Car Guy daddyo Coming from you, I take that as a highly respected compliment. I put a lot of thought in over the years on how I wanted to build the Charger. I'm glad that you agree with the way I'm building the car. The Charger is going to have Magnum 500 Wheels, with original center caps, 15 X 7 up front, 15 X 8 in the rear, with redline tires just like it had when new.
@Car Guy daddyo I was going to go with the day 2 look, but decided to keep it stock looking on the outside. There are 15 X10 Magnum 500 wheels available for my drag radials.
I have an original Chevy small block 400 from my 70 Chevy Monte. The 1st year built was 1970 into the mid 70's. Don't like the heads as they came with steam holes. Not a fan. But, with mods and upgrades, easy 475 HP.
Beside the engine 355 I just mentioned I love seeing the cars in your shop as I did 30 years of restoring muscles and street hot rods cars built to perfection! And painted everything that came through our shop from high ends to muscle cars in Pensacola Fl. Chemicals took it tool on me. Now I'm stuck in Indiana in cold weather trying to build one car for me! I have a 1985 SS Monte Carlo the 355 goes in. It will be ok show type car. Until I can get my cars back l from Pensacola. 1981 Z28 and a 1973 XJ6 Jaguar with a 355 Chevy in it! It's fun to drive and here the chevy rumble! Love your work and yes it's in your blood and the love for those cars! Thanks!
I messed up a 400 chevy 77 suburban. Bought it used. It had an AFB Carter with Edelbrock intake and headers. Good camper puller till carb started to flood. Carter went broke. Couldn’t get new kit. So found a used Quadrajet. Wrong carb for Egr newer pickup. Run too lean and hot in cylinders. Red inside exhaust. I realized too late wrong carb. I had a poor engine teacher in trade school. Learned most through hard knocks. Should have looked a lot harder for carb needle and seat. Edelbrock bought Carter. I’m learning a lot more of the really important things watching Nick’s Garage. Nick is way better than Auto Mechanics classes.
Small block Chevy in the dyno room Nick's Garage is the place to give your engine a tune It's got a radical cam Nick is executing his breaking in plan Nick is the man
@@NicksGarage Nick, you might not believe me, but I have a friend that bought a 1970 Corvette with an original 400 small block, it was rated @ 270 horsepower from the factory. It's the only one I've ever seen. I know for a fact, the 400 sb came in the car. I was with him when he drove it away from the dealership brand new. It's fine if you don't believe me.
I bought a rebuilt 350 from a shop once and they put a 400 flex plate on it. I drove it and it shook. I had no idea it was the wrong one. Came bolted on the engine, never noticed the counterweight on it. Live and learn.
Nick I had a 4 bolt main 406 with chevy 292 angle plug turbo heads all blue printed and balanced with a double pump holly 850cfm and Yorker intake in a 72 vega! Never beat on the street including big blocks! I left a lot of components out but you see where I'm going!
No better way to start the day than testing an engine on Nick's dyno. One of my friends had a 1971 Chevy Montecarlo with a 400 small block, not sure if it was original to the car and no idea what kind of horsepower it produced, but it was one of the fastest cars on the road around here. It was beautiful, gold with a matching gold interior. Of course, no race car in the 70's was complete without a set of S/S Cragers, and dual exhaust. The stories that car could tell.
I love building budget sbc 400's. Last build i spent a bit more but still not bad. 10.2 compression. 560 lift hydro roller 238 242@50 Scat iron crank 6 inch scat rods. Afr 195 2 bolt block. Motown single plane intake. No dyno but in a 69 camaro with 3.55 gear and 3 inch exhaust car ran 11.09 @121. Probably 525 hp qnd runs on 91 no problem. 32 degrees timing.
This engine sounds so nice!!! It is important to put the camera onto the engine during the test, in this case, the discovery was made of the distributor moving while the engine was running... Great episode!!!
My memory of Chevy 400s from the late 70s…. SOOOO many blown head gaskets between cylinders when you worked them hard (farm trucks, service vans, etc.). The bore was just a little too big for the SBC platform. I think that’s why the 383 (400 crank in a 350 block) is still so popular. More meat between bores, more gasket area.
I disagree the 400 is just another platform to build on I've never blown a head gasket when I went to copper with the graphite coating and ARP studs weak head bolts cause gaskit failure
@@richardfinney3179 one of my favorites. Your average mechanic couldn't do one justice though. It was a torque beast in the right hands and tough. It was primarily a truck engine.
As was said w a good head gasket and ARP head bolts the two or three I've worked on over the yrs never had any issues w the head gasket but I've heard stories where the dummass's put 350 heads on one trying to get a higher compression ratio and did but they had no steam holes and yes had big problems w over heating and head gasket issues you gotta have the steam holes from the experience I've had w them ..
The bore and stroke with the exception of the short rods make this a dream come true don't believe the myths they came along with the 400 small block I've been running them for ever in my trucks and they're hard to beat outside of the gas mileage never had a overheating problem never had a single problem with any one of them cuz I kept up with the maintenance and only upgraded the parts I thought would fail but all in all I'm a small block Chevy fan all day Mighty Mouse lives again
Lol, I remember in the 70s you couldn't give us a 400ci Chevy for free. We would turn our back on it. Maybe use it for a truck or something. Live and learn.
@@BigHatsince98 Most weren't 4 bolt mains and the heads flowed way less than 350 heads so way less power. Now that heads and pistons are cheap, it would be a different story.
@@bradcoffman7395 So why not swap the heads with whatever heads you wanted? There were double humps, 283 power packed, whatever else you wanted, machine shops have been putting 3 angle valve jobs in heads for a long time as well as porting and flowing. There were options. A 4BBL intake isn't rocket science to install either. They were also made into 377's. Also, how is a 2 bolt main going to have a higher possible output than a 4? Are you talking about adding splayed mains?
406" and 410" are very commonly used for racing. The 400 came in the big cars and pickups. The 410 Sprints are a very popular dirt racing series. Of course now they all use the aftermarket blocks. Factory 400 blocks are getting hard to find. The aftermarket took care of some of the inherent factory block problems. Great to see it on the dyno!!
1973 is the year one wants for a Chevy sb 400! The 4.125 bore is the one! Stroke it, custom rods, .030 over or more, wild cam, hydrologic cam, roller rockers... Ours ran like a champ was built by S & M machine shop 4 Mike Thusfari (excuse me if I butchered your name Mike) ours was a 406 stroker 750+hp, sitting in a Red 79 Z-28. Was purchased arround the drive threw on National R.D WHEELING W.V. Blueprint now offers the 400 & 350 in 4.125 bore!
Back in the day, 1973, I had a 1967 Camaro with a 400 in it. It was built up almost exactly as this. I always wondered what kind of horsepower it was putting out.
I knew a guy who had one in a chevy truck, and it was fiesty.. I think chevy used the 400 to get the 409 also that was in some of the old monte carlos.
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Thank you for the great work you did on the engine Nick, i took the engine apart a few years ago and came to you to mesure the combustion chamber size because I myself had very few info on it. Based on those measurements I sold the old fuely heads that were maybe from an old 327 corvette engine and got a whole new top end kit. I will definitly choose every part myself on the next build , that being said im very greatful for how it turned out and very thankful for the good tune you did on her. Thanks again man ! Ps the engine is for my 89 firebird :)
Look at that awesome flat line of torque. It will be so much fun to drive that on the street. Part throttle double wheel peel burnout capabilities right there no problem. Rev limit it though. Rpm's are the only thing that will kill it.
Automatic or manual transmission?
@@SavageEuge manual 5 speed
hell yea i am building a 89 formula myself right now
@@juicedchevy "manual 5 speed" EXCELLENT
Just finished my 400. .490 lift. Blue print Aluminum heads. 6" rods. Thing HAULS!! 400 is my all time favorite engine.
If you want to restrict yourself to only 400 cubes I guess it's fine for you
@@lollipop84858 Not going big block. Staying with stock block. So yeah. 400 cubes it is.
@@cw1824 ...until you get some spare cash, get itchy...and break out the grinder so you can stroke it to 4 inches...and 440 cubes...LOL!
@@DMWatson-qc6mz I build engines for a living. It's tough not to spend my whole paycheck on engines lol
My dad used to build late model dirt car engines using 400 sbc as starting point by time he was done he had 700hp+ fire breathing monsters that would run 100 lap races wide open. I grew up getting to watch this and hand him wrenches and be a part of it. Nasty nasty engines especially for the time.
I went with 400 GM and added a stroked kit to make 427 and built it all to run pump gas.. Dyno run was 535 hp with a 850 Holley . Added EFI and the horsepower went to 565 hp. EFI improved the overall driving experience and added a big boost in power. This is odd combination of big power in a small package
The carb should've added more HP if it was tuned right
I don't care if it's Chrysler Ford or Chevy they're all American horsepower. Thank you for another great video
Right on!
Don't forget about the 2 million Toyotas built in the USA!
Holden 308
@@theupscriber65 Toyotas don't count in our book (us old timers).
@@theupscriber65 Said NO ONE EVER
You know Nick is a gearhead through and through!! He still gets excited when he makes a decision and confirms it by rubbing his hands together. Sign of someone that loves what he does!! :)
You can see and hear he just loves doing this!
Absolutely
He’s like a 👍🏻kid in a ❤️candy store, when he 😍sees 🥰classic❤️ muscle cars.
I love watching Nick when he's in the Dyno room. That is where Nick has his most fun. He can tune like crazy in there. He has super good instincts. He tunes by feel. Old skool. I like that.
I learn something every time I watch Nick Im a 70 year old mechanic. Never to old to learn.
Lol my buddy had a 400 in his 68 Camaro graduation gift in 1996, gm dual plane holley 750 , ported camel humps headers and a mystery cam , he blew the doors off almost everything , made believers out of us 400 is a brute
Thanks Nick for a great video!
I remember buying 400 sbc's for $50-$100 in the late 80's/early 90's. People around here were scared of them because of all the stories of over heating or blocks splitting. They didn't understand about drilling the steamer holes in non-400 cylinder heads. So they built stroker motors instead. I love these engines! So easy to make good power and torque. I wish I had one now!
Drilled heads or not these things heated under load. I went as far as using a 4 core desert radiator used in the Blazer. Everybody I knew had the same problem . Not a summer time driver. I know what I'm talking about. I am a two time NHRA record holder even John Bandimere is familiar with this problem. (He is an old and dear friend.).
@@genefoster8601 I ran one in my Nova for years. Std. bore 400sbc, 461 double hump heads, 305 comp cam, tunnel ram w/450 Holleys. TH350 w/3500 stall, 4;56 gears in a 10 bolt. I used a 4row radiator, Robert Shaw 160 degree thermostat, good water pump, flex fan with a shroud. Car would run between 165-185 in traffic in July/August. Never had an issue.
Out of the dozen or so that I had, I never went more than .030 over. Most were std. bore. I never had any overheating issues. Maybe I was just lucky.
@@mcdonaldm73 you may be right. I live in here in Denver,Colorado and we start a 5280 feet above sea level where there is a lack of oxygen and running up to the Eisenhower tunnel and vail pass the El Camino under that load would reach 240 degrees but with the 18 pound radiator cap it wouldn't boil over. Again now we're talking at around and over 9000 feet. When going downhill it would go immediately back down to 180 degrees even though it had a 160 degree thermostat in it. A few other people I knew had the same problem with the 400 small block. The stock engine gave no problems with heat as long as you didn't raise the compression. Once you went to the double hump heads or the aluminum 202 heads which I ran you were in trouble. I think the altitude here and the mountain driving had a lot to do with this phenomenon. I just didn't like living on the edge of my seat with this engine. Finally put a big block LS engine in it.
@@genefoster8601 your right that's why I built a small block 350 16.5 to 1 compression rto 675/326 full roller motor 5500 to 6000 stall 400 turbo transmission naturally aspirated single carb. Never had a over heating issue.
I had a mild 406 in a chevy II that ran 11.70s on 91 octane. Cast iron Pro Action heads with 200cc intake runners. Raced it and hot rodded the crap out if that 2 bolt main cast crank 400 and never overheated it. So wierd to hear about the horror stories....
Had a 400 in my 78 GMC Camper Special. On the way home in 84 it died in the freeway right at an exit, no spark. Coasted as far as we could and we stopped right beside a pay phone. Called BCAA for a tow to the GM dealership that happened to be open until 9pm, we arrived at 8:35. Bought a pickup coil on an educated guess and after listening to the disbelief and hearing about the nearby accommodation pulled the distributor and got to work. I had it back together and was about to test it as the dealership staff were walking out at 9:02. It fired up and I was going to set the timing but instead drove out of sight first. The disbelief from the staff probably saved us half an hour. Never left home without a spare HEI again. It's almost as if you can prevent a failure just by having the spares on hand. and I packed a bunch of them and although I never needed them for my own vehicles I did get to help plenty of people who were in the middle of having a bad day.
Cheers.
I think Nick is falling in love with those Chevys. Really enjoy the variety of engines.
He's amazed by Chevy power... 375 HP from 327" stock...
Mopar small blocks normally had higher torque out of the factory per cubic inch as I remember, but Chevys, you could get more horsepower out of aftermarket and were really inexpensive to build. I'm hearing here about 400 over heating, but that must be a rare problem because I've never had that happen. Those 400s you can really get some good power out of if ya do it right. You can easily max the 202 valve heads out and need more cfm. A turbo can get you past that, but I found dart heads of the day got me past that restriction, and the the 400 allows just a little more room for bigger valves too. Ahhh the good ol days...
Nick's attention to detail is the secret to his success, good show Nick
I really enjoy seeing a tuning guru at work. This is the first and only time I've ever subscribed to any RUclips shows. It Nick can't squeeze out a few more horses I don't know who could!
GOTTA LOVE NICK!!
He's always so jazzed when doing dyno work!
Nick, the more I watch you, it becomes apparent that you mentally bond with an engine when it's on your dyno! Knowing how to coax the maximum output from a particular engine is gift only attained through years of experience. Great vid Nick! 👍
Nick is an engine whisperer👍👍
I Had two cars with that motor. A 75 monty carlo. And 76 caprice estate wagon. They are excellent motors they both lasted over.500000 miles
I used to build and run a few 400's back in the mid/late 80's on the street. They had killer torque for a small block and were great street engines. I also used to run them with the old "double hump" fuelie heads.
@Louis Edwards Yeah, I've seen a few sets here and there on Marketplace but you're right, not as many as years ago. Most people laugh at them now but back in the day, they were a great head to use.
@Louis Edwards Theres no point in trying to find them these days, unless you need them for a correct resto. Aftermarket heads are so cheap for an SBC these days that those old things aren't worth the time, money, and effort anymore. Hell, even a little work into a dime a dozen Vortec head and you'd be better off. Fugget-a-bot those ancient double humpers... Not worth it.
@Louis Edwards They can still be found, it's just not worth it anymore. It was worth it back in the day.
@Louis Edwards
I hear ya. Same here. Mechanic all my life. Built all my own engines and for buddy’s and @ work. Same with my transmissions, rear ends and every part on the car actually. Started building transmissions at 19 years old and I built my last one two years ago for my Brother. I have now retired from building transmissions. It kills my back to even do too much of anything anymore.
those are the heads i run on my SB400 and i hand port matched and polished everything inside them. match intake runners as well.
I love the fact that all the things are talked about. The moving distributor, cam timing, air fuel ratio h carb size!
I always remember, when draining small amounts of oil out of an overfilled case, loosening the plug to the "finger-loose" point, and then shoving a very short 3/4" I.D. heater hose (or somewhere abouts) over the flats of the plug and slowly turning it at "precision drain mode" by holding the hose without burning my fingers on 200° dripping oil and plug.
Excellent tip!
I love that tip! Thanks for that, always more to learn no matter how long you're in the game.
Fumoto drain valves make it easy! I use them on oil and tranny pans.
When I was a kid, my dad had a '77 suburban with a 400 small block with no smog equipment and it was a strong engine.
If you build them with 5.7 or 6.0 inch rods and put big nice flowing heads on them the 400 sbc is amazing. Best bang for your buck for any engine in my opinion.
I built my 406ci with 5.7 rods ,-12cc dish 4VR speed pro,and Promaxx 200cc aluminum 64cc heads …for a 10:1cr ,motor is a beast in my 86 squarebody
I sincerely want to thank you Nick for being a tried and true muscle car guy. You have Mopar in your blood as I have Chevy in mine.. alot of that has to do with how we we're raised and what our parents had.. Kinda what we know.. BUT.. The love of all makes us who we are. Ford, GM and Mopar have truly made totally awesome completely mind blowing muscle cars and trucks that make us extremely proud. The respect is beyond words and I am very happy to have you to look forward to watching a few times a week. I always know you have something new and you tackle all without bias. Your love for the big 3 is priceless and much appreciated be myself and many more! Thank you!
400 smally is dirt track GOLD !!!
I’ve got a 406 in my 57 Nomad. It is a heavy car. I built mine for torque instead of horsepower. Brodix aluminum heads, small hydraulic roller cam with 1.7 roller rockers and an Accel super ram fuel injection. 376 horsepower at the crank but 515 pound feet of torque at 2,300 rpm. It is loads of fun to drive!
LoL I love his smile as the engine starts up...despite his lifelong experience he still get's a childlike thrill out of the sound of the engine starting up. he's adorable.
The torque curve, isn’t a curve at all. It’s a ❤️beautiful, flat, consecutive number, torque line. Great motor for racing, a pick up truck or even a daily driver. Good luck to the owner. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge with us Nick. Best of luck 🍀👍🏻
They always ran hot it’s not a great motor unless u have a serious ice cube box and fans and even that won’t help
You know your Monday gonna be good when start with nicks garage
Thank you, Nathan.
tru dat bruh
All it took was watching just one video and now here I am ,, hooked ! I am amazed on just how much HP that you squeeze out of your engines . Awesome Work !!!
I remember my dad had a fully loaded 72 Chevy Impala with a 400 in it, that thing ran great until the day he sold it with 200,000 Mi on it. I was just starting to learn how to drive back then and drove that beast LOL
First impression from being around sbc’s my whole childhood and as a young adult. My dad ran Butler and McMasters built sbc in Maine, the 750 is too much for even this hungry 400, good call Nick. Balanced and blue printed engine with powder coated headers a 650 and a high revving Chevrolet brought many a blue ribbon to my old man’s mantle with his wife behind the wheel. Those are great memories. One of the my dad’s proudest moments was winning the state championship with a small block Chevrolet. He always said he was afraid to blow an engine, but Ma gave her the business and no one could touch their combination. Doreen. Proudly wears a Nick’s Garage t-shirt with a big smile. Thank you Nick and you too, you video and editing makes these videos really pop.
That is one sweet, sweet small block Chevy 400 engine.
I had one in a '73 Firebird that ROCKED. That motor made power all up and down the RPM's, not like some of the smaller SB chev motors that were really peaky and didnt make much below 3500 or 4k
Nick I read that too much oil can also collect in the valley, and heat the bottom of the intake, robbing HP.
I always start my Monday's with a cup of coffee and Nick's Garage. Have a great weeks guy's! Bill from Linglestown Pennsylvania
Thanks Bill! You too!
Nick nice job. I remember driving my 73 Caprice with a 400-2bl towing a 4x8 u hail and I got 24 mpg from Florida to CT when I left the Navy. It was a great running car.
I still drive my 55 Nomad with a 355 pulling over 400 hp. and I have NO2 as well that I have had since 1974.
I love my SBCs I have 2-283+.030 I'm building now. 1 stock and 1 tricked out with domes.
i had a 67 malibu w/ a '73 high nickel 400 small block that was around 400 hp, great gas milage ... around 18 mpg
A small block with more torque than horse power. I am impressed.
Nice guy like Nick taking care of all those little details the other shop didn't
I've been a motorhead my whole life, and I just learned something. 1/2 liter of oil too much equals 5 HP loss. Thanks, Nick. Never knew that. Great channel!!!
Bon Matin/ Good morning, nice to hear a little chevy on the dyno. Thank-you.
Morning! Glad you could join us.
I just happen to be a Chevy guy but I like all of the big three. I like the fact that Nick does not disrespect Chevy or Ford
Nick, thanks for the Bowtie addition.
I did something similar I rebuilt a SBC and after I put it in my car I took it directly to “Pacific Carburetors “ best thing I ever did as several things were not hooked up correctly AND that I had destroyed the ACCEL distributor on installing, I never would have found this flaw So I recommend that everyone do this ! Especially if they like engines like we do ! I am sure you can find a good shop where you are Gear Heads know this stuff !!!
Ventura ?
What’s up Nick and George how are you doing up in the north. It’s cool to see a GM on the channel🤘 today I will be dropping a video reviving my newest acquisition A 1970 Buick powered by a 455. There’s so many great engines out there from different brands it’s hard to be brand loyal lol
Morning B! You are right about the variety of great engines out there. Gotta love them all.
you could not revive a wheel borrow yours is the worst channel on you tube really you just dont seem to learn there are all these channels with people who know what there doing and you still dont pick it up and do things wrong
if its got wheels and drinks gas,im in
Im doing the same thing. 91 buick wagon is getting an olds 455
Nice to see a guy that's his age still enthused about his craft... most seem like burn outs at his age. Good vid
I have a mystery 400 in my 62 Impala SS, I wish I had a guy like you near me but I'm in England
Love watching Nick's channel, he's a Awesome teacher for my old-school self!
My favorite Chevy sb. Had a built 400 back in the day. Torque monsters.
I'm always told I don't know much of anything about anything but I like that torque curve.
Good morning, Nick, George, and everyone!!! Nick, it’s ALWAYS a pleasure watching you applying your skills and knowledge to all these engines and getting them to perform as they should. A TRUE engine guru: KUDOS, Nick, and y’all have a fantastic day!!! 🙂
Thanks for that!
Every time I watch an episode I learn something. Time well spent. Thank you.
The little sbc 400 is very underrated and nowadays very hard to find. They were the true Chevy sb performance engine! I built one back in the early 90's for a 73 nova. Put the edelbrock rpm package on it and ran 12 o's at 127mph in the 1/4 mile. All with the short rods. I still own 3 rare early ones today! Bad little engines. A friend built one with exspensive parts with Brodix, spreadport heads and ran 10:50's in an s-10 pickup. Pretty stout they are.
Good engine here in australia in late 90s b4 the ls1 2 3 engines went crazy
Mate put one in Mazda rx4 run 9.56 quarter
@@stevesalkas9128 that's a lot of work,time and very expensive! I've ran 7:50's in my nova with a monster big block tho before. Pretty much know what works and what doesn't. I don't really run the 1/4 anymore, I do street race for cash tho!🤪😁
Yes. the Gen I SBC has been put in just about anything you can name. I have a 406 SBC in my Datsun 240Z
Datsun 240Z with a V8, nice.
savage
Hello to Nick, George, Vasilys and all the guys. Thanks for the dyno blast!
Our pleasure!
Just fyi, the missing bolt in that hole is where tri- five Chevy motor mounts bolted to and GM was smart enough to leave them there for us tri five gear heads. Only been on channel for a couple weeks but I got my blue Nick’s Tee shirt to match my 55 Chevy Belair 2 door ht with 406 ci sbc and 5 speed Tremec trans.For car shows. Love your channel and if I was 40 years younger, I’d come to work for you for free. I used to be a pretty good wrench on sbc’s . Especially with high reviving 302 69 Z/28 engines. Bill my friend that had a dyno passed away a couple years ago . I never really realized how much I missed my gear head friends till I started watching you. Lots of memories on dirt track and 1/4 mile drag strips. I love how your taking your precious time to teach Leo. Take care , Batman ⚙️👶 R us
Ya know it's gonna be a good day when it starts out with hot coffee and Nick's Garage! First, I want to commend George on his superb skills. If I was there, I wouldn't get to see the angles or hear the sounds any better! For example : the shot of Nick when he hit his numbers! Rocky, eat your heart out! And Nick, your mind is something to watch work! A machine "reading" a machine....
Great job fellas, as always! Stay safe and healthy!
Learned a lot in regards to the 400.Have it in my 87 SS Monte
Nice setup
I have one of the 406 SBC engines.
They are torque monsters.
5,500 RPM is about it for the red line.
I put 11:1 flat top pistons in it but ran the larger heads to get it down to 10:1 for pump gas.
I ran a larger cam also with shorty headers.
H.P. and torque numbers are very much the same as in this video.
It should work well in my 1984 Camaro.
Man that motor jumped to life with that 650 cfm carb. Heard it right away. Nick knows every trick!
yes experience and knowledge through hardwork. that dyno is golden tool
owner of engine wise person with total sleeper under the hood. well done Nick
Love spending my coffee time watching your dyno Nick! have a great week buddy.
Thanks! You too!
Every time I watch Nick he is like a kid in a candy store when he tests these motors!!!!!
Good morning Nick, the sounds of HP in the morning, what a great way to start a Monday.
Good morning!
@Car Guy daddyo Good morning Car Guy, Nick told me about how you ordered the water pump for your car, and wound up with two water pumps. If you say it's good, I will trust your judgement. When I had the Charger down here in Texas in the early 70's, it never overheated with the stock setup. Now there is way more traffic, and it is hotter than it was before. I'm sure that the mods that Nick did to my original radiator, and the addition of the aluminum water pump housing, along with the new water pump from FlowKooler will keep the Charger running nice and cool during the Texas summer. I appreciate you letting me know about them. I'm sure that I will be happy with the results.
@Car Guy daddyo Actually, I believe that my Charger had the smaller radiator in it from the factory, and not the 26 inch which would have been indicated on the fender tag. Nick kept my original radiator, and had an extra row added to help with the cooling. You are right on the money, as usual, with your knowledge about cooling, and I always ran a 180 Thermostat in the Charger. I probably won't be driving it much during the heat of the day, because with no a/c it would be brutal inside the car. I'll be doing most of my driving early morning, and late in the evening after it starts to cool down.
@Car Guy daddyo Coming from you, I take that as a highly respected compliment. I put a lot of thought in over the years on how I wanted to build the Charger. I'm glad that you agree with the way I'm building the car. The Charger is going to have Magnum 500 Wheels, with original center caps, 15 X 7 up front, 15 X 8 in the rear, with redline tires just like it had when new.
@Car Guy daddyo I was going to go with the day 2 look, but decided to keep it stock looking on the outside. There are 15 X10 Magnum 500 wheels available for my drag radials.
I have an original Chevy small block 400 from my 70 Chevy Monte. The 1st year built was 1970 into the mid 70's. Don't like the heads as they came with steam holes. Not a fan. But, with mods and upgrades, easy 475 HP.
this is the good stuff dr. nick. cant get enough. and we thank the fella for the 400ci donation. that finger pointing does the trick,,
I could watch this all day. Its way beyond cool to be in on a dyno day.
Hey Nick and Guys! 400 sb Chevy has been my favorite stock street motor to run on the street! So much torque! 👍
Til the block cracks between the cylinders... I had this happen twice, and then I gave up on the SBC 400's.
Beside the engine 355 I just mentioned I love seeing the cars in your shop as I did 30 years of restoring muscles and street hot rods cars built to perfection! And painted everything that came through our shop from high ends to muscle cars in Pensacola Fl. Chemicals took it tool on me. Now I'm stuck in Indiana in cold weather trying to build one car for me! I have a 1985 SS Monte Carlo the 355 goes in. It will be ok show type car. Until I can get my cars back l from Pensacola. 1981 Z28 and a 1973 XJ6 Jaguar with a 355 Chevy in it! It's fun to drive and here the chevy rumble! Love your work and yes it's in your blood and the love for those cars! Thanks!
Nice, long torque band. That sweet little engine is a stump puller in disguise.
That's a 400
Love the vintage flip phone..
Refreshing to see old school thru n thru..
Coffee and dyno time, great way to start the day! Thanks Nick!
Enjoy!
We have morning Tea and dyno here in UK 🇬🇧🍵👍
I messed up a 400 chevy 77 suburban. Bought it used. It had an AFB Carter with Edelbrock intake and headers. Good camper puller till carb started to flood. Carter went broke. Couldn’t get new kit. So found a used Quadrajet. Wrong carb for Egr newer pickup. Run too lean and hot in cylinders. Red inside exhaust. I realized too late wrong carb. I had a poor engine teacher in trade school. Learned most through hard knocks. Should have looked a lot harder for carb needle and seat. Edelbrock bought Carter. I’m learning a lot more of the really important things watching Nick’s Garage. Nick is way better than Auto Mechanics classes.
Hey Nick, I've got the 400 SBC in my 75 K20 stock Mud truck.. LOVE IT!!!!
U gotta love Nicks mindset;Actually,It's a 406,With 406 Cubic Inches;So let's try for 406 HP...I love the way this Man thinks! PROPS!!!
Those valve covers look fantastic, they really give the motor a great look!
I grew up on GM big blocks mostly Olds. I to this day would still take torque over HP on the street. It's just more fun.
Small block Chevy in the dyno room Nick's Garage is the place to give your engine a tune It's got a radical cam Nick is executing his breaking in plan Nick is the man
Roberto knows, he never fails, his rhymes are wind in our sails.
@@NicksGarage
Nick, you might not believe me, but I have a friend that bought a 1970 Corvette with an original 400 small block, it was rated @ 270 horsepower from the factory.
It's the only one I've ever seen. I know for a fact, the 400 sb came in the car. I was with him when he drove it away from the dealership brand new. It's fine if you don't believe me.
I bought a rebuilt 350 from a shop once and they put a 400 flex plate on it. I drove it and it shook. I had no idea it was the wrong one. Came bolted on the engine, never noticed the counterweight on it. Live and learn.
Always exciting to see Nick work on getting the most out of any motor.
Nick I had a 4 bolt main 406 with chevy 292 angle plug turbo heads all blue printed and balanced with a double pump holly 850cfm and Yorker intake in a 72 vega! Never beat on the street including big blocks! I left a lot of components out but you see where I'm going!
Good morning Nick and crew.. that SBC will be a great street engine. Hope you guys have a great week.
I like the fact that Nick always works to try to get everything he can out of whatever motor people bring him to test.
Nick is living the life I want......EXACTLY!
Thumbs up for the Jensen Healey! Nice to watch a sunny video in January!
What a watch! It's always a lot of fun to watch a dyno pull! Maybe we'll be able to toss the 455 Rocket Olds on the dyno.. that would be a treat!
No better way to start the day than testing an engine on Nick's dyno. One of my friends had a 1971 Chevy Montecarlo with a 400 small block, not sure if it was original to the car and no idea what kind of horsepower it produced, but it was one of the fastest cars on the road around here. It was beautiful, gold with a matching gold interior. Of course, no race car in the 70's was complete without a set of S/S Cragers, and dual exhaust. The stories that car could tell.
I had a 406 with a nice stout cam and ported 305 heads. I used an rpm intake and a Holley 650 vaccum sec carb and it had so much torque.
I love building budget sbc 400's.
Last build i spent a bit more but still not bad.
10.2 compression.
560 lift hydro roller 238 242@50
Scat iron crank 6 inch scat rods.
Afr 195
2 bolt block.
Motown single plane intake.
No dyno but in a 69 camaro with 3.55 gear and 3 inch exhaust car ran 11.09 @121.
Probably 525 hp qnd runs on 91 no problem. 32 degrees timing.
I love my 400sbc!
This engine sounds so nice!!! It is important to put the camera onto the engine during the test, in this case, the discovery was made of the distributor moving while the engine was running... Great episode!!!
My dad use to have a 77 gmc that he would mud bog and he always ran 400s with 750 dual pumper always was a stout engine to keep his tires spinning
My memory of Chevy 400s from the late 70s…. SOOOO many blown head gaskets between cylinders when you worked them hard (farm trucks, service vans, etc.). The bore was just a little too big for the SBC platform. I think that’s why the 383 (400 crank in a 350 block) is still so popular. More meat between bores, more gasket area.
I disagree the 400 is just another platform to build on I've never blown a head gasket when I went to copper with the graphite coating and ARP studs weak head bolts cause gaskit failure
That's why I prefer the 383.
@@richardfinney3179 one of my favorites. Your average mechanic couldn't do one justice though. It was a torque beast in the right hands and tough. It was primarily a truck engine.
@@richardfinney3179 I always used ARP's on these smallblocks & never lost a head gasket. I think you are spot on.
As was said w a good head gasket and ARP head bolts the two or three I've worked on over the yrs never had any issues w the head gasket but I've heard stories where the dummass's put 350 heads on one trying to get a higher compression ratio and did but they had no steam holes and yes had big problems w over heating and head gasket issues you gotta have the steam holes from the experience I've had w them ..
👍SBC 400... 1 great engine
I had one I put in my old Buick, good motor, the 1970-1972 were four bolt mains.
307ci, 327,sbc 400 .Are they not factory stokers ?
I had a 76 Chevy impala station wagon with a 400 small block. It had a 750 doubleopumper plenty of torque.
I have a 400 sbc in my 71 chevelle numbers matching, I would love to get 500 hp
Thx nick 👍🏻
The bore and stroke with the exception of the short rods make this a dream come true don't believe the myths they came along with the 400 small block I've been running them for ever in my trucks and they're hard to beat outside of the gas mileage never had a overheating problem never had a single problem with any one of them cuz I kept up with the maintenance and only upgraded the parts I thought would fail but all in all I'm a small block Chevy fan all day Mighty Mouse lives again
Lol, I remember in the 70s you couldn't give us a 400ci Chevy for free. We would turn our back on it. Maybe use it for a truck or something. Live and learn.
Most factory ones where 2 barrel, small valve head, low compression boat anchors. Performance parts are cheap now though.
Why would you turn your back on 50 more cubes and a 4 bolt main?
@@BigHatsince98 Most weren't 4 bolt mains and the heads flowed way less than 350 heads so way less power. Now that heads and pistons are cheap, it would be a different story.
@@BigHatsince98 Because back then the 2 bolt main motors were cheaper to work on with more available options and higher possible output.
@@bradcoffman7395 So why not swap the heads with whatever heads you wanted? There were double humps, 283 power packed, whatever else you wanted, machine shops have been putting 3 angle valve jobs in heads for a long time as well as porting and flowing. There were options. A 4BBL intake isn't rocket science to install either. They were also made into 377's. Also, how is a 2 bolt main going to have a higher possible output than a 4? Are you talking about adding splayed mains?
406" and 410" are very commonly used for racing. The 400 came in the big cars and pickups. The 410 Sprints are a very popular dirt racing series. Of course now they all use the aftermarket blocks. Factory 400 blocks are getting hard to find. The aftermarket took care of some of the inherent factory block problems. Great to see it on the dyno!!
1973 is the year one wants for a Chevy sb 400! The 4.125 bore is the one! Stroke it, custom rods, .030 over or more, wild cam, hydrologic cam, roller rockers... Ours ran like a champ was built by S & M machine shop 4 Mike Thusfari (excuse me if I butchered your name Mike) ours was a 406 stroker 750+hp, sitting in a Red 79 Z-28. Was purchased arround the drive threw on National R.D WHEELING W.V. Blueprint now offers the 400 & 350 in 4.125 bore!
Back in the day, 1973, I had a 1967 Camaro with a 400 in it. It was built up almost exactly as this. I always wondered what kind of horsepower it was putting out.
I knew a guy who had one in a chevy truck, and it was fiesty.. I think chevy used the 400 to get the 409 also that was in some of the old monte carlos.
Proud of myself for recognising the Jensen at 0:31. Not many of those around in my neck of the woods.
The man loves his dyno and customers.